The Case That Put Me At The Top (McGee)
by Trailrider4life
Summary: Just a little something from McGee's POV. It's nothing special, but I really love McGee, and just wanted to write. No hate. (: This is about a case where Gibbs gained much respect for McGee. He takes matters into his own hands when Gibbs pushes him back during a case he has lead in. And excuse typos. My computer has a crack in the screen, so reading is difficult.
1. Chapter 1

When people would say the name "McGee," they thought of me, Gibbs' little monkey who was still climbing the totum pole. Truth is, I climbed that sucker way back when. Gibbs greatly approves of me, and me and Tony always wonder which of us is _REALLY_ his right hand man. So, I'm about to tell you the case that put me right up there with DiNozzo.

Normal office morning, right? Nah. I had come in early to finish paperwork, and Tony got there with Ellie a few minutes late. I knew it was them, because when I heard the elevator door beep, I heard arguing.

"No! I wanted to finish my paperwork before the day started," Tony whined.

"Sorry. I needed coffee," Bishop said, waving the paper cup in his face.

I looked up, slightly amused.

"How's the carpool going?"

Tony made a disgusted noise, and Bishop fake smiled. "Lovely, Tim."

I didn't hide my laughs. Those two fought like a brother and sister. As they came to their desks, I quickly slid my finished paperwork into a file, sticking them in a drawer. Soon Gibbs would be here, and he and I had kinda gotten "Intot it." Well, I turned over his coffee.. yes, AGAIN. He had looked at me, and wagged his finger.

"McGee, Rule 23!"

"Yeah Boss. I'm sorry."

"McGee-"

I cut him off quickly. "Rule 6. Never say you're sorry - It's a sign of weakness."

He nodded, and then motioned to the mess I had made. "Clean it up."

So, I quickly went into the break room, got paper towels, and came back. Why did I have to do spill it? Again... I reached his desk, and started mopping up the mess. I could be such a screw up sometimes.

Anywho, back to the case day. Gibbs came busting in like usual, coat trailing behind him. He had that signature Starbucks coffee cup in his right hand, and dropped it into my trash can beside my desk. I kinda made one of those faces I do when I'm taken aback. The one where I open my mouth a little, and furrow my brows? Yeah, that one.

Well, he walked to his desk, pulled out his creds and gun, and looked up.

"Waiting for a cue? Grab your gear!"

Okay, I was nervous now. Why so snappy? I walked to my gun drawer and pulled it open, sticking the SIG-Sauer P228 into the holster at my hip. I shoved my creds into my pocket, and followed Bish and DiNozzo to the elevator. We all piled in, and there was an awkward silence.

"What's the case?" Bishop asked, testing the waters.

"A Marine was found dumped into a river."

Obviously, Boss was even less talkative than usual. I didn't want to push limits, ya know? I kinda sat there until we reached the cars.

"Who's-"

Gibbs pointed to the car in the back, and made a "Come here" motion to Bishop with his finger. Okay, me and Tony, him and Ellie. I clambered into the car, stuffing my back pack into the floor boards by my feet. DiNozzo, who had just gotten in, looked at me. He kinda wiggled his eyebrows, and I swung my head around.

"Somethin' on your mind, Tony?"

"Cat got yout tongue, Timmy?" he asked, drumming his fingers together.

I shook my head, and thought hard about what was really bothering me. Boss always read Tony in to ANYTHING before me. Hell, he read Ziva in before me. I love Ziva, but c'mon, really? DiNozzo was really his right hand man, and that left me where? Stuck in between Senior Field Agent and the little fat faced Probie who didn't know a thing in the world about field work. Truth is, I've grown a lot. I'm confident, and not even the Probalicious any more. The spotlight falls on Bish for that one.. Nahh, I love Bish, but it's nice to let the Probie title fall on new shoulders. So, after what seemed like hours of contemplation, but was only a minute or perhaps less, I looked at Tony.

"Does Boss really... Like me?"

"McGee!" If I had ever heard Tony's voice squeak, it was then. He was driving now, and he reached out with his right hand to touch my shoulder. I knew it was an act, but I let him carry on. He proceeded to pat my shoulder, laugh a little, the grab the steering wheel with both hands. I looked at him like, _"That's it?"_ and he turned to look at me, a toothy grin in place.

"And here we goooo," I groaned.

"'Course he does."

Woah now, no sarcastic comment? No movie flashback? No irrevalent lectures? Where is Tony and what has this Doppleganger done with him? I couldn't help but laugh a bit, and then fixate my eyes on the road. Wow. Maybe he really didn't like me. But I'd been here for 13 years. Was I going anywhere.

 _ **NOPE.**_

It wasn't long before we pulled into the crime scene. Ducky was on the way, and Gibbs stepped out of the dark blue/black car quickly. He flashed his creds, headed to the body, and kneeled down. I flashed my creds as well, and saw something on Gibbs' face I hadn't seen in a long, long time. He looked deeply saddened. Like, depression saddened. When Diane had been shot by Sergai, he was saddened, but not like this. I hadn't seen this since Mike Franks' and his Father's deaths. Honestly, it kinda scared me.. A lot. What was so important? Who was this?

So, I still manned the camera. Gibbs had told me I was good with it, so hey, why not? I snapped pictures of the body, which was a Marine, about the height of myself and the age of Gibbs. In his hand was a blood soaked napkin, also wet from the water. He had been tightly sealed, but some managed to get through. Soon after I was finished up with photos, Duck-Man and Jimmy rolled in.

"What a fine morning!" Ducky piped, and Gibbs shook his head.

"It got less fine when I got a call saying we had a dead Marine, Duck."

Ducky nodded, and walked down to the place of the body, where I was standing. He carried his small field kit, and Palmer rolled the gourney.

"Poor fellow," Ducky said, examining him closely. "Mr. Palmer, help me extract this piece of paper. Seems to be something of an Ink splatter on here.."

Palmer bent back the stiff fingers, and Ducky gently pulled it out. "Save this for Abigail," he said, that familiar smile creeping up his lips. Gibbs never even asked for a TOD. Not even a cause. He always asked both. He wouldn't even let me run my AFIS scanner on him, saying he knew who he was. It's odd for Boss to break procedure, butI guess not unheard of. So after we had the body in the M.E. van, DiNozzo and I crossed back over with Ellie and Gibbs. Ellie looked concerned, and Gibbs was wearing a die hard expression, somewhere between mortally pissed and that saddened face.

"Boss, we're heading back now?" I asked, speaking to him the first time all day.

"Yep."

I nodded, and walked off towards the car me and Tony had arrived in. That's when I heard my name, and I winced. Gibbs was calling me to ride with him. I had gotten super comfortable with him, but today, of all times, I wasn't. I turned slowly, and Bishop walked past me, mouthing "Good luck." And there the nerves got worse.

"Bishop!" I hollered.

She stopped. I held up the camera, and she smiled, walking over to get it from me. "Good stall," she said, giving me a thumbs up. I simply gave her a look, and honestly, I'm not sure exactly what the look said. She smiled, almost enjoying my agony.

"Tim!" Gibbs yelled.

 _"Did he call me Tim?"_ I wondered in my mind, walking to the car. "Here, Boss."

He motioned for me to get in, and I did. My mind was reeling. I mean 100% spinning. Boss could probably see the wheels turning as I sat there, staring at the dash-board. As he started to pull off, we were following DiNozzo. We kept that course for maybe 5 minutes. Neither of us had spoken, and when he suddenly veered away, I decided I'd ask.

"Boss, where are we?"

"A back road just outside Maryland."

"Why?"

He slammed on brakes, pulling over into a red dirt patch.

 _"Uh oh..."_

"I'm reading you in," he said simply.

"Why not in front of the others? I'm sure they already know," I said, irritation present in my voice.

"Damnit Tim, I wanted just you to know."

"Oh. Okay, let's hear it."

"The Marine back there," he started, licking his lips. "He was with me in Desert Storm. But the thing is, he isn't _actually_ a Marine."

"That's why you wouldn't let me use the AFIS scanner," I said, nodding.

"Yeah. Anyway, he was an American Missionary over there. A few Iraqi people had him held hostage. Well, he was a fellow American, and we weren't about to let him be tortured to death. We simply recovered him, and claimed him as our own. The CO had some ID made to push him off as a Marine. It was wrong, it broke code. But I'll damned if I was going to let him die. So we smuggled him back, and he was just a forgotten man. I kept in touch, but I hadn't heard from him in a few weeks here recently," Gibbs was fighting his emotions about the whole situation, and honestly, I can't blame him.

"What about his church?" I asked, curious about whether they knew.

"Assumed he was dead. Can't blame em, really. He was from way down south in Mississippi. When I brought him to D.C., no one ever really asked."

I nodded, thinking it all through. It was a good deal to take in, but I was a trained Federal Agent. I knew how twisted things could be. Gibbs had done the right thing in my opinion, but I bet Vance wouldn't think so... We sat in silnece for a moment before I turned to Gibbs.

"Why me?"

"You're just the man for the job, Tim," he said, smiling. And with that, he drove off.

Back at the office, I wondered what he had meant by, "I'm the man for the job." It was another case. What made me so special this time? Well, whatever the reason, I wasn't complaing. I was happy that I could take matters into my own hands. Anywho, I rode up in the elavator, and when the doors opened, I sauntered out, actually feeling happier than I had in awhile.

"McGee, where did you go?" DiNozzo asked, looking up at me.

"Back roads."

"Thank you, Sherlock," Was all I received in return, and I smiled. I needed more details to work things out, but I knew Boss'd tell me what I needed to know. He always did. Well, I guess he did.. I got the feeling he wanted me to dig into this case, but the level of leads was zilch. I didn't know how he expected me to lead this, considering the others didn't know the circumstances.

Speaking of which...

"Whaddaya got?" the familiar words rolled out, and I bounced up from my chair. That's when Tony decided he was the star, taking the clicker from me in a childlike manner.

"Boss, I did back-round-"

"No, I don't need it. Anything else?" he asked, shooting a warning glance to Ellie and Tony.

"No, Boss. We don't have any leads."

A curt nod, amd he pointed at me. "Abby's lab. Go."

I walked into Abby's lab, and the music was way, I mean WAY up. "Abbs!" I called, and she came out, shutting it off.

"Oh Tim, we have news," she said, smiling.

"Let's hear it."

"Well, the piece of paper Ducky pulled from his cold, dead hands," here she goes crazy with hand motions, "Had, or _HAS_ a name on it. A big, fat, juicy name that's right up our allies, Timmy." She walked to her monitor, pressed the space key, and there I saw it. It shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but this guy is early 60's, and probably no more computer savvy than our very own Gibbs. I didn't bite my tongue.

"The HELL is a Marine doing with a cyber terrorist name?"

"And that," she said, clapping her hands together, "Is where we begin."

I had left Abby's lab to talk to Gibbs. I walked to the Bull Pen, then back down to Autopsy. I eventually gave up, headed back to my desk. Ellie and Tony were sitting, and I raised a brow at how quiet they were.

"Everything okay?"

"Just dandy," they said in unision.

 _"That was rehearsded,"_ I thought.

"Seen Boss?"

They never answered before I saw him coming from Vance's office. And I'm telling you, 'pissed' was written all over his face. Oh well, I had to ask him about the case. I didn't even have the victim's name. I waited for him to come into the Bull Pen, and I gave him another one of my looks. The one that screams, "I'm nervous, but I need to talk with you." It's where I raise both brows, nod my head to the side, and put a hint of question on my face. He understood, and walked past me to the elevator. I followed.

"Boss," I said, once inside. "Abby read what the piece of peper said. It's a well known Cyber terrorist name. Any idea as to why he'd have it? And Boss, his name. What's his name?"

"He couldn't work a phone. I don't know why he'd be having a cyber terrorist on there. And his name? Yeah, his name is Louis Calder."

I nodded, and thought about it. I didn't have a single idea why he'd be involved with the CT. (Cyber Terrorist.) The elevator dinged, and Gibbs started strolling off.

"Thanks, Boss!"

He raised his hand and continued to walk, and I pressed the level to Abby's lab. Time to start diggin'!

I walked into Abby's lab, looking around. She was nowhere to be found..

"Abs? Aabbbsss?"

"Timmy!" She sprang from being one of her rolling tables and rubbed her hands together. A smile curled at her dark red, almost black lips.

"What's got you so excited?" I asked cautiously.

"Why didn't you tell me you're runnin' this Op?" she teased, and gave me a hug. "The others don't even KNOW about Gibbs' connection with the Calder fellow. Gibbs picked _you,_ " she said, poking my shoulder. I honestly couldn't believe it myself, but I was pretty happy.

"Yeah. Now let's actually 'run this op.' "

The next few hours were filled with codes, Firewalls, Trojans, Back Door Entrances to sites, and so many false links that it made mine and Abby's heads spin. Each time we thought we may get into something important, a site popped up that could make DiNozzo blush.. Yeah, let your mind run with that one. After three grueling hours, and six Caf-Pows later, we actually got something. A very, very small something.

"He last hacked about..." Abby trailed off, de-crypting something, "An hour ago. It was in the Metro area."

"That's great, but why did Calder have his name? I don't get it," I said, completely defeated.

"Let's compare Calder's life with a few of his hack victims."

"Brilliant!" I said, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

Well, that meant we needed a few more names. I knew we could manage it, but honestly, I had other duties. I guess I was head honcho though.. Anyways, we continued to back trace his steps and de-crypt every file we could find. This time it was quicker, because I had a pop-up blocker. No more of those links that took me to terrible sites, thankfully. When we gathered three names, and Abby ran backround.

"First person is Talia," she paused, making a face at the last name, "Talia Smitton-wessen-Heimer," she joked.

"Abby..."

"Sorry. Her last name is Smithion. Anywho, early 40's, two kids, not married, some immidiate family. Mother, Aunt, and some cousins. Simple girl. Alright, next is Daisy Hales. Kinda vintage, huh? She's in her 50's, 5 kids, no immediate family."

I raised a brow, and propped my chin on my fist. "These two are women with children. That doesn't give tons to go on."

"Fear not, McGee!" Abby said, perking up. "I give you Liam Calder! Brother of our dear Louis."

"Now we're talkin'!"

I read Liam's back round, and I wasn't impressed. He had been to prison many times, he had one kid, and was a heavy drug and alcohol abuser.

"Mr. Calder has quite the prison history," I said, glancing to Abby.

"And Louis Calder was a squeaky clean Missionary," she replied.

"I'll ask Boss about a brother. Thanks, Abby," I said, giving her a side hug and striding from the room.

 **(I know this story isn't that good, okay. I just spent tons of time writing it, and my told cousin told me to post it for the heck of it. It's not even complete. :P No hate, I'm aware it's crappy! I'm just nursing my broken heart, because we don't have TV and I already watched all the NCIS seasons on DVD. I won't be able to watch anymore until the current season that's still running comes out on DVD's, so may as well write about to still stay in Spirit. (: Once again, no hate. I'm fully aware it's crappy!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Shout out to y'all who realized McGee was left on the down-low with the case! Abby seemed the know more than McGee, however McGee was the only of the field agents to know anything? Sketchy, yeah? lol, Thanks for your support! And please excuse typos, and feel free to point them out! I have a major crack in my screen, and it's incredibly hard to read. Thank y'all!)**

I found Gibbs, and personally, was a little... pissed. I felt like I was left in the dark on the case, but at the same time, 'was the man for the job?' If this is what it's like to be read in, I may just be glad that Tony gets this guessing game more than me.

Did I just say that?

I didn't really mean it, I was just frustrated. Abby seemed to know more than me. Gibbs definitely knew more than me. I couldn't help but wander if he had read Tony and Ellie in. Now, this isn't my first read in, but it was the first time that I knew and the others didn't, so I was indeed proud. Anyways, as I was saying.

"Boss, Louis has a brother. Did you know that?"

"Yep."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Nope."

Now I was really frustrated. I mean really? I was under the impression he had no family. Boss brought him to D.C... Why would a brother not get curious? I guess Liam Calder was a jail-bird, substance abuser, and flat out bad man. Maybe his Missionary brother tried to change that. Whatever the cause, I wanted to know why I was so in the dark.

"Boss," I mumbled, actually hoping he didn't hear me.

"What was that, McGee?"

 _Damn._

"I feel like I'm being shrugged off. Abby seems to know more than me, and.. I mean, I thought I was lead?" After I said that, I realized I sounded like.. well, an ass. I guess he thought so, too, because he never answered, and simply walked away. But the ignoring me part made me really feel pushed away. Honestly, I wasn't a happy camper. At all. I guess now I would ask Abby. Walking to the elevator, I punched the button to head to her lab.

"Here goes nothin'," I said, walking back into her lab. "Hey, Abby. Can I ask you a question, and you answer with 100% honesty?"

At this, she shifted her weight. "Sure."

"Has Boss said anything to you about the Calder case?"

"Define said anything..." she said, trying to lighten the mood, or maybe even avoid the question.

That did it. She knew more. He had said something. Why all this beating around the bush? I really couldn't wrap my head around it. If Gibbs didn't want me lead, fine. I got a bit more worked up than I should have, and I stormed out of Abby's lab, leaving a confused Forensic Scientist watching me go while I mumbled, "Total crap."

I wasn't about to let anyone railroad me. I was given lead on this case, and whether Gibbs liked it or not, I wasn't stopping. I was about to invest every ounce that I could into figuring out Louis Calder's murder. No matter how far back Gibbs let me stay, this was now _my_ investigation that _I_ was going to solve. One way, or another. This attitude raised my hopes slightly, and I walked into the Bull Pen, determination written all over my face.

"Have a break-through, McGee?" Tony asked.

"Mhmm."

"Just a 'mhmm'? No specifics?" he asked, leaning back in his rolling chair.

"Nope," was all I said, typing furiously at my desk. I had my legs stretched out as far as they would go while being crammed under the desk, and never glanced away from my screen. I wasn't about to lose. I was going to back-trace more steps, maybe compare some more victims, and really dig into Louis and Liam Calder's background. This wasn't over for me. Dang it, it had barely begun!

Three hours later, I hadn't moved. Since I was the only that was fully on board on this, if I even could be called on board, Gibbs hadn't called Ellie or Tony to do anything. They watched my every little move, but I ignored them. I needed to find out the cause of Calder's death, see if it was anything to do with the Terrorist who hacked him, and I needed to see of there was anything important on the laptop he hacked. Were the hackings random or did he pick through every person he hacked? Who knew. It was all I could do to stay focused.

"McGee, you haven't moved in ages," Tony said, walking over to my monitor. I quickly exited the screen, which was an encrypted file. However, Tony still typed with his index fingers. He couldn't know what that was.

"And?" was all I said in return.

"Do you want, perhaps, a coffee?"

"It would be nice, but I'm not leaving the building," I retorted coolly.

He acted as if that told him a great deal about what I was doing, and eased back over to his desk. He made a motion to Bishop and mouthed 'House Arrest.' I'm not sure if that should have ticked me off, but it did.

"Not House Arrest," I said, using air quotes. "Simply digging. That's all."

Tony nodded to Bishop as to say, "Definitely House Arrest," and all I could do was roll my eyes. Tony and I could argue over anything. We've argued over the fact that we were having an argument. I guess it was the whole little brother/big brother deal, but it can get old.

Anyway, I managed to find no links to the CT's hacks. I did find that he planted bugs prior to hacking, so his victims must have something that was note-worthy. I needed to get Calder's laptop, and I needed to contact Liam Calder. There was nothing obvious telling me that Louis was harboring Military secrets, but something was worth getting into his laptop. After a bit, Gibbs came strolling in.

"Update."

It bugged me he kept asking for updates. Ellie and Tony must've known something, because he expected them to provide an update, right?

"Nothing, Boss. This guy is a nobody," Tony said.

Ellie shook her head, and sat back. "I can't even find a previous job. He doesn't seem to have been employed anywhere."

Gibbs looked at me, and I played dumb. "Not anything you don't know," I said, pushing my file into a cabinet.

Gibbs didn't linger, leaving the Squad Room to head to the Director's office. I decided to head back down to Abby's lab to compare notes, and then I'd head to Autopsy. I needed a cause and time of death.

Down in Abby's lab, I showed her everything I'd found. She seemed impressed at my determination. But I didn't want her impressed. I wanted answers. She hadn't done anything else involving the CT because Ducky had her running forensics on Calder's clothes and such. Of course Louis being in water made it harder, but this was Abby. Best Forensic Scientist around, as far at Team Gibbs was concerned. No new notes from her meant I'd go to Autopsy.

"Hey, Ducky, Palmer."

"Ah, Timothy! How good to see you!" Ducky said, looking up from a clipboard. Palmer nodded me a hello.

"Yeah, Duck. Can you give me a time and cause of Louis Calder's death?" I asked, glancing around Autopsy.

"You look tired. I've put everything away for the night. Go home, Timothy. Get some rest."

"Ducky, I-"

"I would rather not get into tonight," Ducky said simply, grabbing his coat and leaving the room.

That was the weirdest thing ever... When did Ducky ever do that? This case got weirder and weirder, and I hated the feeling of being shunned. But he was right. I was worn to a frazzle. A little rest certainly would do me well, and maybe some time at my typewriter to clear my head. Yeah, that sounds nice.

So, that was that.

I headed back up to the Squad Room, gathered my things, and said my goodbye's to Boss, who was sitting at his desk.

"G'night, Boss."

"Night."

It was about 9:00 PM or so, meaning Ellie and Tony had left. I was exhausted, honestly. But not ready to stop. Gibbs shut me out, Abby had kind of shut me out, and Ducky, of all people, DUCKY shut me out. Not even going to give me a cause of death? I didn't know what Gibbs was brewing, but Timothy McGee was solving this case.

I opened the door to my apartment, and tossed my back-pack on the ground. Walking to my bedroom, and showered quickly, and put on some plaid lounge pants and a big USMC T-shirt. A little while at my typewriter, and I'd be headed to bed.

 _"Walking slowly, the young boy was aware of the eerie sounds behind him..."_

A little while turned into to hours. It's now 11:30, and I'm looking like a zombie. My eyes are red and had dark circles under them, and my cup of tea I sat down with is long gone. Decided sleep was the best option, I grabbed my mug, set it on the sink, and dragged myself to bed. Everyone needed rest. Especially a Federal Agent, working double time on a case that no one wanted him to solve, right?

* * *

 **I feel like it's all over the place. But no need for two A/N's! Let me know what you think. :P NO HATE!**


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up early the next morning, ready to tackle another day of work. I'd almost forgotten the chaos in the current case, and I stood up, groaning as I remembered.

"Wonderful..." I mumbled, walking into my small bathroom.

I decided a hot shower would be best, considering I had an hour to get ready. I showered, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and fixed my hair in just under forty minutes, and was looking, and feeling, pretty spiffy. I often wondered why we dressed so nice to possibly chase bad guys, but I guess it's the ties to the Government.

Anyway, I was in my car and ready to head off. I'd stop for coffee like I always did, and probably still be a little while early. Eh, that's just extra time to work on the case. Driving smoothly, I stopped at the usual coffee shop, ordered, then clambered back into my car. Now only a few minutes from the building, I sighed. Would today be better? Would Gibbs open up?

The thoughts were pushed from my head as I cruised up to the gates of NCIS. Too late now. I was here. I was in for another day of these crazy games.

I'd gone through security, and now was in the elevator. Hearing the distinct little ding, and the doors opened, revealing the Squad Room. Gibbs was the only one here, and I nodded towards him as I strolled over.

"Morning, Boss."

"McGee," was all I got in return, and I sat down.

I'd start with another encrypted file, and hopefully me and Abby could get out hands on Louis' laptop. We had't searched his place yesterday, which I found very odd. We always searched someone's house the day we found them.

"Boss," I started nervously.

"Hmm?"

I blinked, and then put a little firmness behind me voice. "I need Louis Calder's laptop. There hads to be something worth hacking into for. It was bugged, then hacked, and now he's dead." I ended flatly, expecting some kind of remark. Instead there was absolute silence.

 _Are you kidding me?!_

Personally, I've had it. This was it. How could I do this without any evidence? I'd been lost in my own angry thoughts when Bishop and DiNozzo strolled into the Squad Room, and I looked up. Gibbs had left, and now it was just us three.

"Has Boss said anything about searching Calder's place?"

Ellie and Tony exchanged looks, and Tony spoke up.

"We went through his apartment yesterday. The three of us went when you were with Abby."

I'd bet a hundred bucks my face turned red. You could probably see the steam coming out of my ears. Never, I mean NEVER have I wanted to blow up like I did there. But it wasn't Ellie and Tony's faults. This was on Gibbs. And I was about to ask him. Ask him why he pushed me away. Why I was kept back. Why are we beating around the bush so much?

I carefully got up, and slowly walked towards the elevator. I was going to Abby's lab to see if she had the laptop, then to Gibbs to ask a few questions. Entering the elevator, I saw the worst person possible at the moment.

Gibbs just looked at me, and I sighed.

"Boss, why did you search the Calder place without me?"

"You were busy," he replied, looking straight forward.

"I could've been _Un_ -Busy for that! I need his laptop," I said, turning to him. I sensed desperation in my voice, but I was past caring what I sounded like. He never looked away from the chrome doors of the elevator, and I sighed. I heard a ding as we arrived at the floor Gibbs had been headed to, and he stared at me before leaving.

"Then go get it."

That was the worst possible thing he could've said. I was already determined enough. If I had to break into Evidence and steal that laptop, by damn, I was going to have a look.

Back to Abby's lab, though..

I walked into her lab, and I imagine I looked pretty pissed. Her face was a bit taken aback, because honestly, not many people have seen me this angry. I marched over, stopped right in front of her, and grabbed her shoulder.

"Louis. Calder's. Laptop."

She opened her mouth, shut it, and then nodded. "It's in Evidence."

"Have you searched it?"

"Yes..." she replied.

I could tell she felt a little bit guilty, and then in turn, I felt bad. "Abs, I'm not mad with you. Tell me, did you find anything important?"

"No. I wanted you to help me go through it, but Gibbs said you were busy."

I smiled in a sarcastic way. "Apparently I'm always busy now," I said, laughing. "Thanks, Abby," I finished, walking from the lab.

"Where're you going?" she called, standing on her tip-toes to watch me leave.

"EVIDENCE!"

I had gone into the Evidence Garage, and I was on a mission. Get the laptop, get out, get to Abby's lab, and search it. But the kicker... Not get caught. I was "certified" to be in here, but Gibbs would be ticked knowing I'm going through a laptop that's been searched. Let's not think about that, though.

"Where did they put it?" I mumbled, searching the labels intently. None said Louis' name. Hell, there wasn't even a laptop, _period_. This continued to frustrate me, because I needed to search this thing and get gone. But nothing ever works in my favor. So, twenty minutes later, I'm going through label after label, each one ticking me off more. Nothing said Louis Calder. NOTHING.

So, you know that locked off area at the back of the Evidence Garage? I was convinced it was there. Where else could it be? I'd ripped the front of the garage apart, and there was no way I missed it. Gibbs has never loved us entering the back part of Evidence. The few times I'd done was either with his or a Director's permission, and this time I was breaching my own Agency's security.

Yeah, that kind of scared me...

So, walking back, I entered the old code. To my surprise, it worked. The screen went from red to green, I heard a hissing sound, and the gate popped open a bit. Walking to the second gate, I entered the same code. Red to green, hissing noise, and it pushed open. That was a major relief. Now I just had to find the laptop.

Everything was alphabetical in here, but I was sure Louis' stuff wasn't filed already. Abby could still run tests on some of it and maybe find new information. Well, if it wasn't filed, that meant it had to be somewhere, probably in a box, just sitting. I carefully walked to the right, but nothing of any interest showed up. Okay, now I'd go left before circling the whole area.

Low and Behold...!

There was a cardboard box, marked _Calder_ sitting beside a huge shelf. Yes, yes yes! All I could think was, _"Grab the laptop and run."_ I strode to the box, searched intently, however, quietly, before lifting out an Evidence sack. It clearly had a laptop in it. Tucking it under my arm, I walked to the gate, pulled it shut, walked through the next one, again, pulling it shut, and then to the elevator.

As I scanned my eye to prove I was authorized, the silver doors opened.

 _Oh shit._

DiNozzo looked at me funny, and walked off the elevator. I quickly stepped in, and I had that look where you knew I was lying. I've always been a crap liar.

"McGee..." he trailed off, putting a hand on the door to keep it from shutting.

"Tony."

"Whaddaya doin'?" he asked, tilting his head.

Motioning to the laptop, I gave him a "piss off" look, or rather, it was supposed to say that. "Going through the victim's laptop with Abby."

Tony wasn't convinced, or perhaps he knew Abs had already searched it. But he nodded once, raised an eyebrow, and backed off. The doors shut, and I hit the button to head to the lab floor. I needed to go through this before Boss caught me.

* * *

 **A/N. Okie dokie, here's another chapter. I've come to really enjoy writing on this. I'm in my own little McGee world, and that's nice. Anyways, I still feel like someone could do better, but I'm having fun, several of y'all like it, so win win, yeah? A note about grammar, I'm from the Sticks, so there's gonna be some, "Gonna," "Wanna," "Y'all," and things of the like. That's how we talk. c: Anywho, point out spelling mistakes if ya like! Oh yeah, I try to keep the chapters about 1,500 words. Short enough to update quickly, long enough worth writing, and this length keeps me interested. NO NATE. Bye, y'all! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Down in Abby's lab, I had my hands propped up on the table, leaning my weight on them. I was staring at Louis' laptop, my tongue sticking out slightly. There was absolutely no information on here.

Nothing. None. Notta. Zilch.

It was a few pictures, a couple of files that were basically worthless to a terrorist, and he had an Amazon, Ebay, and FaceBook. That was it. It was completely past me as to why someone would bother hacking in. There was two options.

A.) Louis was such a genius with computers that he hid the files.

B.) I was totally missing something.

I'd like to think it was A, but I was probably so stirred up and frantic that I simply looked something over. It happens to the best of us. Anyway, Abby had gone back to Major MasSpec (Y'all correct me on spelling here!), leaving me to my thoughts. They weren't particularly good thoughts, either.

"Abs?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you find anything, I mean _anything_ on this laptop?"

"I already told you, McGee. I couldn't find a stitch of information. I searched all his files, all through his search history, I went through his documents, music, pictures, and even recycle bin," she said, pulling a slender tube from one of the slots on Major MasSpec.

Sighing, I turned back. Something had to be there. The CT bugged his laptop, then hacked. There was something he wanted. And it wasn't old country songs by Jamey Johnson, or these blurry photos he downloaded. None of the to-do lists he typed up, and his search history was pointless. I felt like I needed to look at the pictures for some really odd reason...

 _Encryptions_ _..._

Mousing over an old, sepia colored photo, I'm pretty sure I did something like a yell, because Abby came jogging over.

"What, what, WHAT?!" she exclaimed, looking at the screen.

"Abs! There's encryptions in the photos!" I said, looking at her excitedly. I was beaming now, but a realization hit me. What if they were bogus accounts?

Abby seemed to read my mind, as she bumped me out of the way, starting to de-crypt. "I'm gonna do this, okay? Go grab something to eat, and get me a Caf-Pow while you're at it."

I nodded, quickly leaving her lab. I didn't want to miss anything. So, I hopped in the elevator, went to the break-room, got myself a Nutter Butter, and stopped by the Caf-Pow machine for Abby. My hands were pretty full, as I'd grabbed napkins and such, and now back at the elevator, I couldn't hit the button to summon it.

"Dang it!" I mumbled, trying to hit it with my elbow, then my hip, and even tried kicking it once or twice.

And then I hear cackling.

"Oh, McGee!" Tony said, belly laughing. He was clutching his stomach, leaned back, laughing as hard as possible.

"Tony, just hit the button and then send me to Abby's lab," I said, furrowing my brows.

"And get rid of," he stopped, made a gesture, and continued, "This?"

As soon as he said that, the doors opened, and Gibbs just about bumped into me. I jumped in the elevator, and thought I'd won. But now I needed to hit the button to the Lab level.

"Boss!" I called to Gibbs, who had stopped to talk with DiNozzo.

He simply looked at me.

"Can you send me to the Lab?" I asked, slightly embarrassed. He walked up, gave me an unreadable expression, and hit the button. The doors slid shut, and I was on my way down...

"Abs, I'm back!" I called, setting all the food and drink stuffs down. She was in the back of her lab, on the monitor behind the closing doors. I thought it was strange she didn't answer, but I proceeded to walk back there.

"Find anything?" I mouthed through the doors, which she had shut. She made a drinking motion, so I reached back, grabbed her Caf-Pow and my Nutter Butter, and held them up. She opened the doors, pulled me in, and snatched the Caf-Pow from me.

"Oh, McGee. This is exciting. And bad. Really, really," she dragged the last 'really' out, "Bad." She sipped the drink, her face concerned, with a hint of excitement.

"Spit it out already!" I said, walking to her monitor. I wanted to know what was going on.

She walked over, plopped down, and sighed. "I de-crypted the files, right? Well, Louis was way, I mean _way_ more tech savvy than he led on. He had hidden stuff in all these old pictures, and I'm like Ninety-Nine point Nine-Nine percent sure he put them there. They weren't embedded by a virus or some kind of bug. They're "Home-Planted," for lack of better terms."

I nodded. It made sense, really. Play it off dumb, hide secrets, no one ever know. Still, what were the secrets? Abby was really working my nerves with the guessing, and I think it showed on my face, because she wrapped up the lecture quickly.

"McGee, brace yourself," she said.

"Consider me braced."

"He had major Military plans embedded in these old photos," she said, clicking on a de-crypted file. It was attack plans, ship layouts, courses, flight routes, troop plans. This was major. A Cyber _TERRORIST_ had these. He was cyber, yeah, but still. Sell them on the black market, and anyone could counter-act any move the USA makes.

"Abby, you know what this means?" was all I said, staring at the screen, jaw dropped.

"It means the United States of America, and to put it lightly, is very, very screwed as of now."

"Abby, we have to track him, we have to get these back before he sells them, he have to fix this!" I yelled. I was talking so fast, I could tell she heard it all jumbled up. To be fair, I was panicked. Gibbs had to know. Tony and Ellie needed to be on board with this. This got real, real fast.

"I'm going to tell Boss. Scratch that, I'm just telling him from here. No need to waste any more time." I snatched my phone from my coat, and hit Gibbs' name.

 _Ring, ring, ring..._

"Pick up, dammit!"

"What, McGee?" Gibbs answered.

"Boss, okay. There's embedded files and, and. Uhm, there's Military and Government secrets on here, and that's what the Cyber Terrorist hacked him for," I spilled it all out, and then took a deep breath.

"And can all these be sold?" he asked coolly.

He was on speaker now, and Abby was at my shoulder. "YES!" we chorused, and Gibbs hung up. I assumed that meant he'd be in Abby's lab shortly, and I was correct. He strode in, awaiting the explanation. Abby and I had moved the laptop, and we hooked it up with the big screen, so he could see everything clearly.

"This," she said, bringing up one of the old, sepia photos, "Is where the encryptions were hidden. He embedded them into here. No one would search photos for something like that. Unless you're NCIS."

Gibbs nodded, and searched the photo over intently.

"Is that one of the old Desert Storm pictures?" he asked, squinting at the screen. We both shrugged, not totally sure. It wasn't very clear. Gibbs waved it off, and pointed at the screen.

"Show me all the other stuff."

Abby clicked the link, and it brought up everything we'd seen before. Gibbs' eyes went wide, and he mumbled something I couldn't catch. I'd put my money on the fact that he was swearing, but I'd be swearing, too. The fact that someone had all this was un-nerving. What I hadn't thought of, why did Louis Calder have these plans and secrets?

"What in the ever loving hell was Louis messing with this for?" Gibbs said, this time loudly. He didn't relate, didn't ask anymore questions, just strode from the room. I looked at Abby, sighed, and grabbed my Nutter Butter.

"This is going to be a long night," I said, taking a bite of my snack. We now know why he was hacked, but no clues to his death. Not a single suspect, not even a fracture of a lead. All we knew was that he was messing with bad stuff, and it was more than likely corresponding with his death.

And that's when her monitor went hay wire, and her computer shut down completely. She looked from the fidgeting screen to me.

"And we just got bugged."

* * *

 **A/N. Hey, y'all! It took me longer to update this time. Life is super busy. lol I'm still enjoying writing this, so I'm gonna keep going. I sit down, think of 100 ways for this to go, and get to be wrapped up in my thoughts for an hour or more. It's wonderful! Thank y'all for the reviews, reads, and favorites!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Damn, this guy's good," I mumbled, setting down my half eaten Nutter Butter. There really wasn't any use in trying to stop the bug, so we simply shut down her monitor from any contact with other electronics throughout the building. She had good enough programs to keep the bug from stealing any information, and her Firewalls were too good for a hacker. Basically, we were clear until we de-bugged her.

"So, you go downstairs, and look into all this," she said, shoving Calder's laptop at me. "I'll finish up here."

"And leave you with the fun..?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, leave me with all this FUN!" she said sarcastically, and then she pushed me, saying, "Now go! You've finally got a lead!"

I was actually glad she was letting me dig in all of the things we'd just recently found. But I had a lot to do. Call Liam Calder, see if Louis had friends, and see if all these secrets were the reason he was shot at point blank range and tossed in a creek. I'd put my money on he pissed off the wrong person, or that same person found out what he was doing. I wouldn't take lightly to finding something like this out.

Now I was headed to the Squad Room, my long legs covering ground quickly. I was ready to start this. It had been a long few days, and I was finally somewhere. As I strolled around the corner to my desk, I must've been beaming. Tony looked up, and his expression was quite hilarious.

"McGee, what's going on?" he asked, standing up to look at the laptop.

"Abs and I had a major breakthrough," I said, sitting down to open the laptop.

"Do tell, Tim," Bishop said from her desk.

"Well, inbedded in these old pictures were Military secrets. Plans that, in the wrong plans, can render the US useless. They would know our every move."

I could hear a gasp from Ellie, and Tony made some irrelevant movie reference. Gibbs came in a few short seconds later, and I looked up. His eyes were even more determined looking than usual, and I could tell the personal ties he had were killing him.

"Boss, I'm digging. I'm gonna see how he could obtain these, and back-track on the CT. We're gonna get him."

He nodded, and I didn't bother to mention that the things I told him I'd do were nearly impossible. Yeah, Gibbs wasn't a softie who needed sugar coating, but I was gonna make this as pain-free as possible. He didn't deserve what he was being put through. "And Boss..?" I called, standing up to stand beside him. "I think it's time Tony and Ellie know.." I whispered the last bit, to be sure that they didn't hear.

He simply nodded, and headed to Vance's office. For now, I had to pretend I wasn't in the know. Or like they were. But, all I could think, _At least Boss is acting like he can stand to be around me.._ In the excitement of the case, the tension between us melted away, thankfully.

I headed back to my desk, sitting down easily. Tony was giving me a look, wondering what I had said to Gibbs. I wasn't gonna say anything to him, though. Gibbs could tell them on his own time. It wasn't my job, and I certainly wasn't gonna try to get on bad terms with Gibbs again.

"McGee..." Tony said, rubbing his chin.

"No."

"Just no?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yes."

He smiled coyly. "Ahh, secretive McGee. This is odd, very odd," he mumbled, putting his hands together. I rolled my eyes, and opened the link to the secrets we had found inside Louis' photos. Ellie had come to stand behind me and look at the images and links, and she was shocked.

"Calder had these?"

"Yeah," I said, scrolling down onto some cruiser routes.

She shook her head, and worry washed over her face. "This is bad. Anybody who knows this can counter-act every move the US makes. This is bad, Tim. Really, really bad."

I nodded, moving onto some flight patterns, then a troop movement. "It's like sending all these people into certain death. The issue is, I don't know how long ago the CT hacked, and there's no way to know who has these now. I could trace it, but likely he sent it to dummy accounts all over the world, meaning it would take forever to figure out, if it's possible at all."

Bishop nodded, and placed a hand on the back of my chair. Tony was looking frustrated, and I figure it was because the way this case had escalated quickly. He was still in the dark a bit, and I finally felt in the know. I hoped Gibbs would read them in, because Abby and I needed all the help we could get, and without the whole team, this may be near impossible.

Bishop had straightened up from her place over my shoulder, and crossed her arms. "First thing's first, send me those links. Maybe I can start a trace, that way we won't tie up your computer. I'll trace it back, and let's see what happens."

I wasn't arguing, and brought up an email. Pasting links and the embedded files, and I hit the Enter key, and sat back.

"There. That's all of them. And be sure you've got a firewall up, please. Abby has already been bugged, and her whole monitors are shut down. If someone else hacks into yours and steals these, we're beyond screwed."

She nodded, bringing up the files. "I have one up. No worries, McGee," she said, smiling. Bishop was really good at her job. I was always impressed with her. If she could learn to lighten up a bit, she'd be just fine. But we're all a Probie, one time or another.

"Okay," she said, squinting a bit. "Traces are started. It could take a week to do this, and I'm wondering if it's worth it to-" Gibbs cut her off as he stormed down from Vance's office.

"We don't have a week."

"I know, I just don't think that-" He cut her off again.

"MTAC, now."

She stood, and Gibbs pointed to Tony and I. "You, too."

DiNozzo's face fell a bit, and I had a feeling he was about to read them in. Finally, they'd be fully on board, and I could have them here to help. Until this case, I had't realized how much I rely on my team, and how wonderful it is knowing my six is always covered. I'd felt exposed and vulnerable this whole case, and things were coming together nicely.

Now in MTAC, Gibbs was reading them in, and updating me. Tony wasn't really shocked by the Missionary/fake Marine story, but Bishop was open mouthed and obviously shocked he broke protocol. Gibbs always followed rules, yes. _HIS_ rules. He had his own set to get him through life, and they've gotten me through more than once.

"When he turned up dead, I couldn't imagine who'd kill him. Now I know that he was involved in some major blackmailing, and that it's likely why he got killed," Gibbs finished, tossing a Manilla folder onto a table. "I need you to find the killer," he said, pointing at Tony, "and make it snappy." He turned to me. "I want you here, working this from home. You're a much needed asset to this tech-computer-stuff, and you and Abby can figure this out quicker than Cyber Unit." Bishop was eagerly awaiting her orders, and he finally turned to her. "Call Louis' brother, and get his sorry ass up here for questioning."

We all nodded, and left MTAC. They had a new spring in their step, but I was used to all the not knowing by now. And, for once, I was relieved I got to work from here. I felt at home with the computers, and I felt like I could do what I was meant to do, without someone outdoing me. Here, I was number one, and that was a satisfying feeling.

But now I was heading to Abby's lab. She probably needed some help with the bug, or she may be in the clear now. Either way, I was ready to found out as I strode through the doors to her lab.

"Hey, Abs. Anything new?"

"Yeah. The bug shut down, and I thought my Firewalls had shut it out. I flipped everything back on, and I blacked out again. It's saying it's shut down again, but I'm not cutting these puppies on," she said, her hands propped on her hips.

I'd never heard of a bug shutting down, then rebooting when the infected monitor was turned back on. That made absolutely no sense to me, but I knew she wasn't talking BS, and it had seriously pulled that stunt. This was gonna be harder to beat than I thought...

But I had my whole team backing me now.

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't start on this chapter until Saturday, and I finished just now, so if it feels rushed or total crap, that's why. (Not that the whole thing has been amazing...) I have prom this Friday, so no promises on when there'll be a new chapter. I've also got a big horse show practice Wednesday, and Volleyball practice sometime. I'm very, very scattered. I'm still enjoying writing, so I'm gonna continue. Thanks for your support. It really means a lot to me. c: 3**


	6. Chapter 6

Now Abby and I were both sitting at her monitor, frantically typing. The bug had spread, and fast. We knew how to shut one down, but this one kept pinging back each time we came close. That was increasingly frustrating, but the worst part was not _actually_ knowing what was going on. Were we actually hacked? Could he get into her computer? Could he get info, her programs, or anything of the like?

"Abby, why don't we shut your monitors down like before?" I asked, my eyes scanning the screen quickly.

"These are my babies, McGee. I'm not leaving them sitting ducks."

"They're safe when they're shut off, right?"

"We can only speculate that. I can't be positive that the bug can't spread while shut off. This could be a minor nothing of a virus, or a serious way to leak something from AFIS," she said, her hands flying across the keyboard as she talked.

I knew she was over-exaggerating now. In all my time, not a single person has hacked AFIS. Most don't attempt, either. It's basically impossible to hack a major Government run intel site, and anyone with hacking skills was fully aware of this.

"Abby, do the smart thing. Pull. The. Plug."

On cue, the shut down the monitor, and turned to face me. She was smirking, her maroon lips curled up. "Happy?" she asked, turning back to the blank screen. I nodded, and she walked to her personal laptop in the back. Since it wasn't linked to her monitors and didn't share any servers with them, it was unaffected. I could tell she'd done something by the way she walked, but had no idea what.

"Abby...?" I trailed off, and she looked up.

"I bugged a bug," she said, nodding curtly. "Now it'll start tearing itself apart, searching for false files and pictures I put in there."

Abby usually didn't pull one over on me computer wise, but that was brilliant, and I'd never have come up with it. Putting a virus in a bug, making it break itself down, then probably shut down? Pure genius!

"Now that," I said, pointing, "Was a brilliant idea." And with that, I strode to the Bull Pen. I needed to see what was going on on the other side of this case. Where Liam Calder is, what Tony has found, and maybe even get some new orders from Boss. We were having what seemed like major breakthroughs. Let's hope they don't _fall_ through.

"No, I want Liam Calder sent to NCIS!" Ellie hollered, propping her head on her fist in frustration. "It's not exactly a hard place to find. Google if you have to," she said, while mouthing 'help me.' I smiled, and shook my head. She was on her own on that one.

"Fine. Have Liam call me." She slammed the phone down with a _thunk_ , and I looked up. "Get him set to be sent here?"

"What do you think? We have to pay for his plane ticket, and escort him here like some lost puppy!" she exclaimed. Gibbs just strolled into the room, and looked at her.

"Then do it, Bishop. What's going on with your side, McGee?"

"The bug should soon be shut down. Still working on backtracking him, but one step at a time, right?"

"Good work. Bishop, get me Liam Calder," he said, sitting at his desk.

Things were starting to feel rushed. We may have gotten somewhere with the cyber end, but we had zero suspects. Who killed Louis? Why? I was sold on the idea he got murdered for having the secrets on his laptop. If that was true, the person had to be skilled with computers, or they knew him personally and saw them first hand. So, I guess we could start there.

"Gibbs, I need a few days. He's being a real hard ass," Ellie said, glancing at her computer screen. "You've got forty-eight hours. If he isn't here by then, I'm sending you to Mississippi to find him." Ellie nodded, and looked at me. All I could do was shrug, because I knew that Boss really would send her down south.

"What's the news from Tony?" I asked, directly to Gibbs.

"He's searching for more evidence, but as far as I know, he's empty handed," the reply was flat. As if on cue, Tony came in.

"I found this," he said, holding up a hunting knife. "Made in Mississippi." He strode to his desk, set the knife down, and pulled the camera out. "New boot prints by the crime scene. McGee," he tossed me the SD, "On the big screen, dear fellow." I put the pictures up, and started a slide show. Tony got some really clear shots of a perfect boot mark, but there was something white beside it.

"Tony, what's the little white-"

"The best part, Tim. A fingertip of a latex glove."

* * *

 **Crappy, short. Ugh, this is awful. I know exactly how I want this to end, but I'm working out a realistic way for the NCIS lads and gals to figure it out. A bit harder than I'd originally planned. :P In my head I know who did it, why, what he did it with, and where. Basically, this is a game of Clue for me, and I know em all. I just need to fill in, so if it's not great, bear with me. I'm trying, I really am. Thanks for your support, loves!**


	7. Side Note from the Author

Updates are about to get kinda scarce. Just came off spring break, had prom, etc. Now I'm booking it to finish school, and I want writing to be my outing, not something I feel forced to do. I'll update ever so often, at least once a month. Thanks for understanding. Xx, Trail. 3


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